Considered the first modern writer for children, Edith Nesbit wrote wonderfully imaginative tales about magical adventures in the everyday world.

In Five Children and It (1902), the children dig in a sandpit and find a small, bad-tempered sand-fairy, the Psammead, allowed to grant one wish per day. They wish for many things: to be beautiful, rich, grow wings.

But none of the wishes turn out right. The magic does wear off at sunset. Will they survive safely?

In The Enchanted Castle (1907) three children stumble on a mysterious house and discover an invisible princess and a magic ring. At first it is a great adventure. When the children need an audience for a play, they make one from old clothes, pillows, and umbrellas.

Then things go inexplicably wrong. As the curtain falls, there is a ghastly applause. The creatures have come alive and most disagreeable!